Kinship
by Jade Octahedron
Summary: Arutha, noble son of Highever and his sister Katherine set out to stop the Blight from consuming their beloved Ferelden.
1. Preparations

Author's Note: Well here we go, my first FanFiction. It's a bit of a 'what if?' story. It will follow the story of two Cousland Nobles on their quest to save Ferelden from the darkspawn threat. Eventually I will get to the romance parts of the game, but for now we are looking at an adventure story. This first chapter is the first half of the Noble Origin story, enjoy!

-

Castle Cousland was very cold this time of year. Arutha blew into his hands in a futile attempt to keep his fingers from freezing. If this miserable weather kept up, he would surely need an amputation. Despite the cold, Arutha felt rather smug that morning, he would ride with his father to Ostagar to assist King Cailan and Teyrn Loghain drive off the darkspawn horde. His older brother Fergus would be taking some troops south later that evening, while Arutha and his father would have to wait for the bulk of Arl Howe's forces to arrive.

His younger sister Katherine was absolutely furious. She wanted nothing more than to go with them and test her mettle in battle, but their mother would hear nothing of it. Eleanor Cousland, mother of Fergus, Arutha, and Katherine, was already concerned enough with the knowledge that the men in her family rode off to war.

"Soldier, make sure those bags are tied good and tight!" Arutha shouted across the courtyard. A young knight looked up, saluted, and tightened the saddlebags. Over the course of the next hour, Arutha circled the courtyard, issuing commands and giving assistance to the soldiers when it was needed. It was a long and arduous task, but one that had to be done. And Arutha was happy to do it, because it gave Fergus the opportunity to spend a few more hours with his wife and son. Perhaps if things were different, and it was he who had a beautiful wife and a young son to look after, he would find his task more intolerable.

He used his task to keep his mind off of the war that rapidly approached. He was nervous, though he would never admit it. Arutha had never been to war before, and he was the only male in the Cousland family who was not a seasoned soldier. He intended to do his father proud in the coming battles against the darkspawn, but he was nervous nevertheless.

"Arutha!" a voice called from across the courtyard.

The young man looked up to see Katherine standing at the large door to the great hall, waving to him. With a smile Arutha made his way over to his sister. "What's up, squirt?" he asked her playfully.

She glared at him, and for a moment, Arutha thought that he might actually get killed before any of the real battling even begun. "I told you not to call me that!" she said sourly.

The young noble raised his hands in defeat, "sorry! It won't happen again."

She glared at him a moment longer, before dropping the look of anger and giving him a warm smile. "Father wants us to meet him in the great hall," she said.

Arutha laughed, "you don't seem to think that will be an enjoyable meeting."

"Of course I don't!" she exclaimed. "You are leaving with Fergus and father and I am going to be stuck here while you all get glory in a battle against the darkspawn."

Arutha shook his head, his sister was a bit strange at times, and her strange thirst for battle reflected that a great deal. "It's not going to be fun, Kate. We're going to war. It is bloody business, and I hope that you never have to look upon such atrocities."

Kate turned away from him, "you sound like mother."

Arutha winced, that was quite the insult. While their mother was a wonderful and loving woman, she was extremely overprotective and rather overbearing. "I don't know how I should take that," Arutha said as he began walking into the great hall.

"However you'd like," Katherine replied from beside him.

The great hall was the largest room in the castle. It had high arching ceilings and fine stonework. Any noble in the realm would be impressed by the grandeur of the room. By the large fire some fifty feet away, their father Teyrn Bryce Cousland was deep in conversation with Arl Howe, one of the families greatest allies, and a tall man that Arutha had never seen before.

As they approached, their father greeted them both warmly. "Hello my children! I trust you remember Arl Howe?"

"Of course," Arutha said nodding politely to the Arl.

"How could I forget?" Katherine added from beside him.

Arl Howe nodded to Arutha and glanced at Katherine before turning back to Bryce. "I apologize again for the delay. My soldiers will be here by nightfall."

"Nonsense," Arutha's father said, "'twill be like the old days. You and I will ride together and meet the darkspawn."

While Arl Howe was not a particularly friendly man, and Arutha felt little love for him, he was a loyal friend to his father. Arutha respected what the two men had gone through in the past and he was confident that their previous adventures would assist them in the coming battles against the darkspawn.

Bryce turned to his children once again, "there is somebody I would like you to meet." Arutha could tell that he was excited. He spoke the same way whenever Nan made cookies.

It was then that the third man stepped forward. He was tall with dark hair and skin, his eyes glinted with sharp intelligence and his stance suggested power. "I am Duncan of the Grey Wardens," he began. "I have come here seeking new recruits for the Wardens."

"He's come to ask Ser Gilmore to join," Bryce cut in.

"If I may be so bold, Teyrn," Duncan said, "but either of these two would make fine Wardens as well." As he finished he gestured at Arutha and Katherine.

Immediately, Katherine piped up, "I'd like that opportunity."

Bryce raised his hand and Katherine was silent. "I'm sorry Duncan, but those are my children you're talking about."

Duncan nodded, "I've no intention of forcing the issue. Ser Gilmore will make a fine recruit."

Katherine dropped her head, discouraged and turned away from the group. Arutha could sense her humiliation at being denied an opportunity to prove herself yet again. He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, but she pushed his arm away and left the room. Arutha watched her go, he felt regret that she was in such pain. She deserved a chance to prove her worth.

Bryce sighed and put his arm around his son. "We will have a glorious return to this castle, my son. Do not fret over Katherine, she will have plenty to keep herself occupied with while we are gone."

Arutha nodded, "I know, father. I just feel that someone should give her a chance to prove herself. She tries very hard to impress you and mother. She feels that it is not enough."

Bryce did not respond for several moments, he was silent as he processed what he had heard. "She makes your mother and me proud."

"I know she does, father. Let her now sometime."

Bryce nodded, his childish smile returning to his face, "I'll do that."

Arutha turned to leave, content with his father's answer, but the Teyrn had more to say to him. "Arutha, would you be so kind as to pay Fergus a visit? I'd like you to tell him that I want to see him."

Arutha bowed, "of course, father."

As he made his way out of the courtyard he allowed his mind to wander. His imagination conjured up awful images of darkspawn mutilating soldiers. It was then that he finally admitted to himself that he was scared. He did not desire to go and face hordes of evil darkspawn, but he had been called upon to do it. He only hoped that he could be as great a warrior as Fergus. It was a lot to live up to.

From somewhere in the castle, there was a scream. Arutha was taken from his thoughts and brought back to reality. The scream was followed by a string of curses and shrieks. Arutha allowed himself to smile, Katherine's Mabari War Hound, Tak had once again found his way into the larder.

He decided that a short side trip to see what the dog had gotten himself into this time would be acceptable. Fergus would still be with his family when he arrived. The poor man was obsessed with them.

Arutha rounded a corner to see Katherine walking briskly beside Ser Gilmore. "What's that silly mongrel gotten into this time?" she was asking the knight beside her.

"I do not know, milady," Gilmore responded.

Arutha quickened his pace until he was striding beside his sister. "What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"Do you really think that I would miss a chance to watch Nan's head explode?" Arutha asked, his voice filled with childish excitement.

Katherine looked away from him pointedly. "You act just like father, you know?"

"I'm going to take that as a compliment."

Katherine quickened her pace, "ugh! You are impossible Arutha."

Arutha laughed, "thank you."

They rounded a corner and made their way down the passageway until they arrived at a door. From within the sound of angry shouts could be heard. Arutha entered first, eager to see what kind of chaos was taking place in the kitchens. Katherine entered next, her expression one of concern and worry. Finally, Ser Gilmore entered looking only slightly amused.

Nan turned about as they entered and stalked up to Katherine, murder blazing in her eyes. "You! Get that blasted creature out of my larder!"

Katherine took a step back, "okay, I will, just please relax before somebody gets hurt."

Katherine sidestepped the angry cook and made her way into the larder. Arutha made his way across the kitchen and grabbed a large piece of bread that had just recently come out of the oven. He sank his teeth into it, savoring the warmth. As he swallowed his first bite of the delicious bread, Katherine came out of the larder with Tak, who was covered in blood.

Arutha stepped forward, worried for the wellbeing of the Mabari. "What's this?" Nan asked angrily. Arutha winced that the hostile town in the old cook's voice.

"It's blood, Nan. Tak killed some rats that found their way into the larder." Katherine's voice was solid, and she looked at her war dog proudly.

"It is more likely that he chased them in there," Nan said. "Still, I suppose it is best that he took care of the rats." She bent down and placed a treat on the floor for Tak. From where he was Arutha could not see what Tak was given as a reward for being a troublemaker. "Don't say that Nan never gives you anything, now."

Arutha chuckled and quickly ate the rest of the bread before anyone noticed that he had it. With their furry companion in tow, Arutha, Katherine, and Gilmore made their way out of the kitchen and down the long passageways of the castle.

He took his leave of his sister and Ser Gilmore and made his way up another path towards Fergus's chambers. This incline of the path was not one that was particularly intolerable, but Arutha did sometimes wonder at the design of this castle. It just didn't make sense.

As he crested the first part of the incline, he found his mother deep in conversation with some of the other visiting nobles. When he approached, his mother excitedly drew him into their conversation. "Arutha! I trust you remember Lady Landra?"

Arutha smiled and nodded, "of course." It was the truth; Arutha would ever forget Lady Landra. When he first met her she had been more drunk than anyone he'd ever seen. It had been humorous at first, but he didn't find it to be quite as enjoyable when he'd had to help Dairren, the son of Lady Landra and Bann Loren, carry her to the carriage so she could get home.

"We were just talking about you, Arutha," his mother said.

"Oh, what about me?" he asked curiously.

"Well," Lady Landra cut in, "you are twenty-two years old and you haven't married yet."

Arutha sighed; of course his mother would choose this topic to annoy him with. "Mother! I can handle my own affairs, you know."

"Are you sure?" a voice sounded from behind them.

"Yes, Katherine," Arutha said shortly before making his way past the gathering nobles and off to find his brother.

He found his brother precisely where he thought he would, in his room with his family. Oriana his beautiful wife, and Oren, his rambunctious son were both getting ready to see him off.

Arutha entered the room and laid eyes upon his brother. He was tall, muscular, and had dark hair. The image of perfection in any woman's eyes. He was jealous of his older brother; everything came so naturally to him. Arutha could not remember anything that Fergus had ever had trouble doing in his entire life. Arutha had been forced to live in his shadow, never able to outshine his brother.

"Hello brother," Arutha said.

Fergus looked up and smiled at him, "come to see me off have you?"

Arutha nodded, "I have come to wish you luck. You'll be arriving at Ostagar before Father and I."

"Papa, will you bring me back a sward?" Arutha looked down to see Oren looking at his father, his eyes full of hope.

"That's sword, Oren," Fergus said to his son, kneeling down. "And I will bring you back the finest blade in the land."

Oriana took her husband's hand and drew him into a passionate kiss. Arutha looked away pointedly, "should Oren and I wait in the hallway?"

Fergus pulled away from his wife, "you won't be bothered by this as much when you've got a lovely girl of your own to kiss."

Arutha shrugged, "and if I don't want one?"

It was common knowledge that every noble girl in the region who wanted his hand drove him completely mad. They were all petty girls who wanted nothing more than to marry him for power. Arutha would have none of it. He would only marry someone that loved him, not someone who intended to use him for personal gain.

"You will someday little brother. It is inevitable."

"Do I get a lovely girl someday too?" Oren asked.

Arutha laughed, Oren was a very wonderful child. He had been jealous at times, when Oren stole his brother's attention, but the feelings subsided as he grew older. "Father wishes to see you off, Fergus. He's in the great hall." While he hated taking Fergus away from his family these days, it was nearly time for war.

"That won't be necessary, Arutha." Arutha wheeled about and came face to face with the rest of his family. His father was smiling at him as he entered the room.

Katherine giggled, "father has unfolded his evil plot to get his family together one last time before you all go off to war."

"Figures," Fergus said, smiling.

They spent a few happy moments together, talking and saying farewell. It was a wonderful evening, everything was peaceful, nobody was in danger as of yet, and Arutha felt the worry that had nagged at him all day begin to subside. He was with his family and that was all that mattered.

"Auntie?" Oren asked excitedly.

"What do you need, Oren?" Katherine asked, looking down at Oren.

"Will you teach me how to use a sword?" Oren's voice was dripping with excitement.

"I suppose I could," Katherine said, obviously taken aback by the strange request.

"I think not!" Oriana interjected.

"Mother! You never let me do anything fun."

Bryce, Fergus, and Arutha all laughed. Eleanor shook her head and sighed. "Boys," The Teyrna said.

Bryce hugged each of his children in turn, "You should head to bed, Arutha, Katherine. We will have a busy day tomorrow. Fergus, the men await their commander."

Arutha turned and left the room, beside him Katherine did the same. "Have fun while we're gone, okay?"

She glared up at him, "you know that I would rather go with you."

"Of course I do, but you should still make the best of being in charge of the castle." Arutha's tone was light, playful.

"What exactly did you have in mind?" she asked him curiously.

"Well, I'd teach Oren how to use a sword just to make Oriana mad."

Katherine giggled at this, and Arutha was glad that she was not too hung up over not being allowed to go. "I thought I was the troublemaker here, not you."

Arutha smiled, "yes, well… Oriana can be a bit overprotective at times."

Katherine scrutinized him for a moment. "You don't like her very much, do you?"

"What? No! I think she's fine. I just like making her mad; it's quite a lot of fun." It was true, Oriana was very easy to frustrate, and it had been a favorite pastime of his when he was younger. Such things were still fun even now.

They were outside of the door to Arutha's room when he finished his explanation. "Goodnight, Katherine," he said to her.

"Goodnight," she shot back before going down the hall to the next door.

He heard her door close and lock and let out a sigh. It had been a long and interesting day. He was not sure that he would be able to sleep, for he would ride off to war in the morning. He felt sick. He was young, green. He was not ready for war. He sat down on the edge of his bed and put his head in his hands.

Why was he so worried? He was a talented swordsman and he'd won every bout in the noble duels last year. Yet he felt weak and powerless. If he let his fears get the better of him, he would surely be slain.

He couldn't think like that. He took off his boots and lay atop his blankets. Perhaps in the morning everything would be better. If his feeling of unease did not dissipate, he would confide his apprehension in Fergus. He would tell nobody else.

With that thought in mind, Arutha drifted off to sleep.

-

Author's Note: There it is, chapter one! Let me know what you guys think in a review. I hope I get around five for this first chapter, but whatever. Even one review would be great. I'm looking for constructive criticism or praise, or whatever you're looking to give me.

Do any of you know anything about acquiring a beta reader? I don't really understand the system behind getting one. All the menus on this site are still foreign to me, and I don't really know how to navigate them yet.

I did, however, make a Community for FanFics that focus on Romances between Morrigan and the male PC. Don't know how successful such a thing will be, but I thought it would be good for the whole lot of us Morrigan fans to stick together. The community is called: Love is for the Weak. You should check it out!


	2. Knight Castle

Author's Note: Well, here we are with chapter two! That's right! It's time for all of us to celebrate. Put on your party hats and get ready to dance! This chapter will conclude the second half of the Human Noble Origin. From here I will move on to the rest of the FanFic, and things will become much more my own. I hope you enjoy reading it.

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Arutha woke to she sounds of banging. He sat up, drowsy and confused. Such noises were not commonplace in Castle Cousland. He got out of bed, slipped his boots on, and made his way to the door. He turned the handle and stepped out into the hall. It was a gruesome sight, several servants lay on the floor, covered in blood. He looked away from the scene and glanced down the hall, in the direction of his sister's room. There were two guards there, swords drawn, and fighting with Tak.

Arutha swore; he would not let his sister be struck down, not now. He went back into his room, and tore open the trunk at the foot of his bed. Resting at the wooden bottom was a polished steel long sword. He picked it up, buckled it round his waist and dashed back into the hall.

As he reached his sister's door, one of the guards fell back, a gaping wound in his chest. From within the room Arutha heard Kate's triumphant cry. Well, one thing was certain, she was safe and not in any immediate danger. The other armed man was not as lucky however. Arutha raised his sword high above his head and brought it down on the head of the man. He crumbled, dead before he hit the floor.

"Kate!" Arutha called to her. "Are you all right? Do you know what is going on?"

Katherine dashed from her bedroom, holding a dagger in each of her hands. "Arutha, thank the Maker you're okay! I'm fine." She paused there, looking around the hall. There were seven dead servants along with the two other men lying in the pools of blood. She averted her eyes, and Arutha felt extremely angry. Whoever was responsible for this was going to pay; nobody made his sister look that devastated and got away with it. "I… don't know exactly," she said slowly. "But it is obvious that we are under attack."

Arutha bent down and examined the shield of the man he had killed. He felt his stomach drop. This was impossible; there was no way that _he_ could be responsible for this. He looked away from the guard, disgusted.

"Thank the maker you're both all right," a voice rang from Arutha's left. He looked up to see his mother coming toward them, bow in hand. "What happened here?" she asked him.

Arutha did not know where to begin, and despite the urgency of the situation, he found it hard to make a coherent sentence. "It was… It… He…" Arutha took a deep breath and focused his thoughts. "It was Arl Howe," he said slowly, "these men are wearing his colors. We have been betrayed."

"No!" Eleanor said harshly. She bent down to examine the guards armor, but it was obvious that she found nothing, for she looked up at Arutha with an expression on her face that must have matched his own.

It was disturbing to think that a man they had all trusted as a friend and ally had betrayed them so completely. This action was completely unprecedented; Arl Howe could not possibly hope to gain anything by killing off the Cousland family. Arutha felt a rage bubbling within hi, a strong desire to seek vengeance on the man who had done this to them.

"What of Oriana and Oren?" Eleanor asked her children urgently.

Arutha looked up, he had not thought of this. Their door was closed, and he hoped that meant they were unharmed. He dashed across the small antechamber and opened the door. It was not a pretty sight; Oriana lay on her back, eyes open and unseeing. Oren was collapsed atop her, limp and covered in blood.

Before Arutha could close the door, Katherine and Eleanor stood at his side. They peered into the room, and Arutha closed his eyes. He did not want to see the looks of pain that he knew would be on their faces. It was too horrible.

"No!" The shout of pain broke Arutha's heart. He did not open his eyes, but he felt his mother move past him and into Fergus's bedchamber. "Why would Howe do this? He's not even taking prisoners! My little Oren is dead." Arutha took a measured step back and turned to face the door to his parent's room before he opened his eyes. He could not look upon the scene in the bedroom. He did not want to see his mother in so much pain.

"Mother," Katherine said, "we need to move on. We can't stay here."

Arutha heard her mother's choked sobs from within the room, "give me a moment, Kate."

Arutha made his way down the hall, stopping in front of the door that led to the rest of the castle. He heard voices on the other side. It was clear that they would have to fight if they wanted to get anywhere.

The young noble made his way back to his room while his mother mourned, and pulled his armor from the stand in the room. He buckled the armor into place as fast as he was able, all the while wishing that this was some kind of sick and twisted nightmare. When he had his armor on and his shield on his left arm, he made his way back into the hall.

Katherine was also wearing her armor; it seemed that she had been thinking the same thing that he had: they would have to fight to survive.

"We must find Bryce," Eleanor said. "He did not come to bed, I fear he may be in danger."

"Is it possible that he stayed up with Arl Howe?" Arutha asked.

"I do not wish to think that," Eleanor snapped.

The three nobles and the Mabari made their way down the hall and to the door. There were still voices coming from outside. Arutha placed his hand on the doorknob. "On three," he whispered. Eleanor and Katherine nodded, Tak growled.

He braced his weight against the door, sword and shield ready. "One," he whispered. This was it; they would fight for their castle and everything else they cared about on this night. "Two." Arutha should have felt fear, but he did not. All he felt was the incredible desire to destroy Howe and all the men in the castle. He wanted to make the traitors feel pain. "Three." He flung his full weight into the door and turned the handle.

The door opened, and Arutha used the momentum to propel him into the room. He made his way past the first two guards and drove his shoulder into a third. The man stumbled backward, tripping over his own feet.

Arutha smiled an evil smile, and drove his blade into the man's chest while he was on the ground. A cheap, honor less move, but one that ensured the man was dead. He pulled the blade from the corpse and turned to face the other two.

They crowded the door, and Arutha could see Katherine fighting with the nearer. If they were both still standing, it meant that their mother had not been able to get off a clear shot. Arutha let out a roar, a sound filled with pure rage, and dashed forward.

He ran his blade through the man who was not occupied by his sister's blades. The soldier let out a startled cry and looked down at his chest. The blade stuck through him, and dripped with blood. Arutha kicked the man in the back, dislodging the sword from his body, and sending him tumbling into the only standing soldier.

The minor distraction Arutha had provided was just enough to give Katherine the edge. Her blades struck home, the guard collapsed in a fountain of gore.

Another engagement was over, they had one. So far they had killed five of Howe's men had been killed, and Arutha felt that there would be many more to come. This night would be a long one.

Without a pause, Arutha made his way down the sloping path that led to the rest of the castle. There were no living souls in sight. The first door he happened across was wide open; there were several dead guards inside. All of them bore shields and tabards of the Cousland house.

He pulled the door closed before his sister and mother were close enough to peer inside and continued down the path.

When he rounded the corridor he laid eyes on the most unwelcome of visions. Several bodies littered the cobblestone path, piles of rubble were everywhere, and there were large timbers on fire. The castle had not simply been infiltrated, it had been besieged.

He hastened his pace to a trot. He felt a strong desire to fight as many of Howe's men as possible, and to save as many of his own people as possible.

At the three way intersection, a serving man ran up to them, screaming. "The castle has been taken! I have to get out of here!"

Arutha put an arm on his shoulder, "calm down, man! You can get out through the servant's exit in the Larder if the main gate is unreachable." The man nodded and began to turn away, but Arutha tightened his grip on his shoulder. "It will be safer if you stick with us for the time being." The servant's eyes widened and he raised his hands. "I know you're scared, but we will all be safer if we are in a group. Howe's men will not be able to overcome us if we stick together." Seeing that there was some sense in his words, the man took a steadying breath.

"I cannot fight milord, I don't know how."

"Do what you can, take a weapon from one of the fallen and come with us. We'll keep you safe in the thick of battle." The man was comforted by Arutha's words, and he made his way to a fallen Cousland soldier, picked up a bow and a quiver and examined them carefully.

Arutha nodded, those would have to do.

Their group, now numbering five, arrived at the intersection, and was met with the sound of battle. Arutha dashed around the corner and saw two Cousland soldiers fighting against a large group of Howe's men. They were outnumbered, and would surely be defeated without assistance.

He charged without thinking, slamming his shield into the back of one of Howe's men. He stumbled forward and the Cousland guard took the opportunity to slay him. The two guards fought even harder now that they had a chance to survive.

Arrows flew and Howe's men fell. Arutha smiled, his mother was a masterful archer, a great asset to them in this battle.

"Hounds!" Kate shouted through the battle. Arutha turned around. There were indeed hounds, and soldiers, a lot more soldiers.

From his left, a blade arced towards him. He caught it on his shield and returned with a swipe of his own. His blade, too, was deflected. He swore, swinging again and again at the man, his blows growing more ferocious, more animal. He felled two more men; blood splattered his face and arms. His desire to extract revenge was overpowering him. But he could not stop, these men had to be killed, or more innocent people would be hurt.

Tak was clawing viciously at another Mabari hound. Kate was clashing blades with another soldier. Eleanor and the servant loosed arrows at their enemies. The two Cousland Guards held the front with Arutha.

They were winning; they would push back Howe's men and be one step closer to reaching the Great Hall. If Arutha's father was not there, they would have to escape without him.

He raised his sword to kill yet another of Howe's soldiers. Pain ripped through him. He stumbled back, blinking, burning.

Arutha looked at his chest. There was a long arrow shaft sticking from his breast, just above his heart. He was very lucky to be alive, but he would not be able to fight in his condition. The arrow had pierced his armor.

"Arutha!" cried Kate as she disengaged herself from her foe with one final slash of her blade. She ran towards him as he fell to the ground. She couldn't lose her brother too, not now, not tonight.

Two arrows soared over their heads, killing the archers. Teyrna Eleanor Cousland let nobody harm her children and live to tell the tale. Arutha took deep, ragged breaths as he watched the fighting from his position in his sister's arms.

"Sister… you… must… help…" he panted. "They need you."

She shook her head down at him, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm not leaving you."

Arutha laughed, though it brought him pain. "You have to. I… will be… just… fine."

"You're lying," she said, holding him tighter. "You were always a terrible liar."

He smiled up at her, "you know me too well." He felt blackness overwhelming him, this was it, then: the end. He raised his hand, and stroked his sister's cheek.

"Katherine, get out of the way!" Eleanor's voice commanded.

Arutha could hear the voice of his mother through the darkness, she sounded worried. Why was she worried? There was nothing to be worried about, was there? Everything was going to be just fine. And then he remembered. Pain shot through him and he let out a cry of anguish.

Something was at his lips, something cold. He felt liquid trickling down his throat and he did his best to swallow whatever it was. Strength returned to him, the pain ebbed away; he was not dying after all. His breath became stronger and more even.

Arutha opened his eyes, and he was back in the world of the living. The castle was in ruins, and his mother and sister knelt over him.

"Thank the Maker!" Eleanor said.

"I thought we'd lost you, big brother." Katherine's voice was still shaky, but he could tell that she was relieved.

He sat up, his body ached, but the pain was not unbearable. "What happened after I got shot?" he asked, slightly dazed.

"You lost consciousness," Kate said to him as she got to her feet. "But mother had some strange liquid in a bottle. She removed the arrow and forced it down your throat. I can't believe that you're alive. But I am very happy."

Arutha got to his feet, and was supported by one of the soldiers. "What next?" he asked his mother.

"We must get to the treasury. We must get the family sword before Howe does."

"Of course, mother," Arutha said as he got away from the soldier and bent down to pick up his sword. His muscles were stiff, but he would still be able to help if they got into another battle.

They made their way down the path, taking a right when the passage split. They continued until they reached a door. Arutha's mother opened the door and unlocked the treasury with her key. The two guards who should have been on duty were nowhere to be seen.

The Cousland vault was impressive; it contained riches as well as artifacts. Arutha stumbled across the large room to the chest at the back. He opened it and drew out the Cousland family blade as well as the fabled Shield of Highever. They were glorious weapons, both enchanted, and used long ago by the ancestors of the Couslands.

Arutha sheathed his sword at his waist, fastened the shield to his back, and slid the Cousland family sword into its place behind the shield on his back. "I will kill Arl Howe with this blade," he announced. Some of his vigor was returning to him.

"Now we must get to the Great Hall," one of the guards spoke up. It is imperative that we make our way to the larder before it is impossible to navigate the castle.

"Right," Kate said.

They hurried out of the room and back down the passageway. They made it to the Great Hall without further incident. Arutha was grateful for his chance to rest.

Unfortunately their respite was short lived. The great hall was a warzone. Some of the remaining guardians of Cousland Castle were staving off Arl Howe's men. And leaind the group of attackers was something that even Arutha paled at the thought of combating. A mage stood in the center of the hall, using his powers to light everything in his path on fire.

Arutha drew his blade and entered the battle. He ran through one of Howe's men and pushed him back into a crowd of oncoming soldiers from the invading force. Arutha reached behind his back and drew the Family Sword and the Shield of Highever. The battle was joined.

Kate was standing beside him, her blades flashing mercilessly in the firelight.

Their appearance in the battle had turned the tide of the fight, and the Cousland defenders took the offensive, driving Howe's soldiers back to the large doors at the end of the hall.

The mage still wreaked havoc on the Cousland men, but his energy was beginning to wane. He had used too much of it already. Ser Gilmore dashed through the crowd of fighting men, his large sword raised high, and cut the head from the mage.

The decapitated man fell to the ground, blood gushing from his neck.

When all of the Arl's men had been killed, the soldiers began moving the furniture that had not been incinerated to the double doors so that they could keep out more soldiers. Arutha helped as best he could, but his wound made it difficult for him to lift anything too heavy. When he and another man had successfully wedged bench in place next to the door, he heard Ser Gilmore's voice, "once the gate is braced, we hold here. We give the Teyrna and her children time to escape."

"What," Kate said immediately. "No! We are going to stay here with you."

Arutha knew that his sister was infatuated with the young knight, but this was the first time that she had ever shown any such feeling in public. Not that it really mattered at this point. She could announce her undying love for him right there and she most likely would not have to suffer the consequences.

"No, lady. You must go. You must live." Ser Gilmore's voice was strained, he could tell, but he would not let his pain show. Not when his men needed him.

He lifted a table with another man and began walking back to the door just in time to hear Kate let out a strangled sob. He looked about and his eyes rested on his sister. She had flung her arms around his neck and was crying into his shoulder. "Please come with us," she managed to get out between sobs.

"I cannot," he said to her, placing one hand on the small of her back and hugging her to him.

"Come, my daughter. We must go." Arutha and the guard had finally put the table in place when he heard his mother speak. He crossed the hall and went to her side.

"Mother," he said quietly, "give her a moment. She loves him."

Eleanor looked at him, "I know. But the gate will not hold for much longer."

Arutha watched as Kate and Ser Gilmore kissed. They held nothing back, it was their final farewell. They were silent the rest of the way to the larder. The castle was quiet, it seemed that Howe's men had been driven out for the time being.

Kate was watching the ground, keeping slow, even paces as she walked beside Tak.

Arutha could not feel her pain; he had never been in a romantic relationship with anyone. He had never been in love. Tears streamed down her face, but she did not let them hinder her progress. Kate had a strong sense of pride and would not allow anyone to see her as weak.

The kitchen was empty, it seemed that Nan and the other servants had escaped. Arutha entered first, and made his way to the larder. He opened the door and found his father lying on the ground drawing in ragged breaths, blood pooling around him.

"Bryce!" Eleanor yelled, pushing past him and rushing to her husband's side.

"Oh… good… you're all… safe," he panted.

"What happened to you," Arutha asked as he went to his father's side. Kate was right behind him.

"Howe's men attacked… I… barely escaped."

"Save your breath, dear," Eleanor demanded.

"We have to get you out of here," Kate said from just behind Arutha.

"I… wound's survive the standing… I think," Bryced managed weakly. Arutha was stunned; even in times like this, their father had the nerve to be a smartass.

"Then we'll just drag you out," Arutha said plainly.

"I would slow you down... the castle… has been taken."

"He's right." Arutha turned about to see Duncan, the Grey Warden, standing n the doorway, his sword in his hand. "I must get you away from here."

"Take… them… to safety," Bryce said. Arutha could tell that he did not have long to live.

"I will, but I must ask a favor of you in return," Duncan said as he approached the Couslands.

"Anything," Bryce said.

"The darkspawn threat demands that I leave with a new recruit. Both of your children would make excellent Wardens."

Bryce looked at his children for a long moment. "Oh… very well. You should… go."

Arutha and Kate rose, moving towards he servant's exit. "What are you doing, Eleanor?" Arutha heard his father ask.

"I'm not leaving you Bryce. My place is at your side. I swear I will kill every bastard that comes through that door to buy our children time."

"I love you mom. Dad." Arutha turned to see Kate looking at them both. This time she did not try to conceal her tears.

Arutha nodded, "I love you, too."

"We must leave quickly!" Duncan said, urging them towards the servant's exit. So it was that they were the last of the Cousland Line.

-

That's all for now! What did you guys think? Let me know in a review.


	3. To Ostagar

Author's Note: Here we are with the third chapter of our tale. Please enjoy!

-

They ran far from Highever. They ran for hours without rest, without food, without water, without hope. Arutha felt defeated, everything that he had ever fought for was gone. His parents were dead, his home in ruins, and a great deal of his friends were now dead. He had no sense of himself any longer. He was broken, beaten, he felt dead. He paid little attention to anything as they walked, allowing himself to be tormented by his thoughts. What would become of him, of Katherine? After they helped Duncan with his blight would they be allowed to seek vengeance? Would they live through the ordeal? Was Fergus alive? All were questions that he could not answer. They circled his mind, demanding his attention.

So lost was he in thought that he did not notice the sun rising. When it had risen high enough into the sky for them to see clearly Duncan stopped them for some much needed rest. "Get some sleep you two, we have many miles yet to travel."

"Do you have any blankets?" asked Kate. "It is freezing."

"I'm afraid I do not, you may use my cloak if you wish. I will light a fire while you two rest."

Arutha was not about to complain, he flopped unceremoniously onto the ground. It took him only moments to fall into the blackness of dreams. . .

. . . Everything was dark. Arutha was in a very large bedroom, lying upon a very comfortable bed. He rose, curious to discover something of his alien surroundings. They seemed strangely familiar, yet he could not remember ever having seen them before. He opened the door to the room and found himself looking at a grassy meadow. He turned around, confused. The bedroom was gone, replaced by a desert wasteland.

He heard voices behind him and turned to face them. His parents were standing there, smiling at him, waving to him in greeting, welcoming him home. He smiled; it was good to know that his parents were still okay, that they hadn't been killed by Howe's men.

A shape appeared, amorphous and colorless, but Arutha watched curiously. His parents took no notice, still waving to him happily. The shape became Arl Howe; he drew a sword and ran his father through. Arutha wanted to scream a warning to his mother, but his vocal chords did not work properly. He could make no sound. His mother noticed the danger too late, and he watched in horror as his mother was struck down before his eyes.

Howe smiled at him, and raised his sword in salute before once again becoming intangible. He faded from view, leaving only the corpses of his parents. . .

. . . Arutha sat bolt upright. He was covered in a cold sweat and panting heavily. It was not yet midday. Duncan sat calmly a few meters away, staring off into the trees. Arutha took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself, or to return his breathing to normal at the very least.

Arutha suddenly became painfully aware that Duncan was paying more attention to him than to the trees. "I see you're awake," the old Grey Warden said.

Arutha did not reply, instead he rose shakily to his feet, and made his way over to where Duncan was sitting. The events of the previous night seemed like nothing more than a bad dream, a night mare that would ebb away. All of it had been so surreal: the fighting, the death, the pain. Never before had he experienced such things, such tragedies. He knew that when everything really sunk in, when he believed what had happened had not been a dream, he would break down. That was something he could not let happen, not now. Kate was going to need him, and he had to be strong for her if for nothing else. Privately he was more afraid of his own emotional response than anything else. He did not want to face himself.

Duncan took note of his silence, and chose not to speak again. Arutha was grateful; he did not want to be questioned, at least not yet. He would have to answer a great deal of questions when he met up with his brother. He shuddered; Fergus would not take that news well at all.

"How long until we reach Ostagar?" Arutha suddenly spoke up.

Duncan turned to look at him, his gaze piercing and knowing. "I suspect we will be on the road for several days yet. King Cailan will be able to hold off the darkspawn until then."

Arutha felt his face pale. In all the excitement of the previous night, he had put the darkspawn out of his mind. Fighting them would be difficult, but they would distract him from his grief, at least for a time.

"Wake your sister," Duncan said. "We cannot stay here any longer."

Arutha turned away from the Grey Warden and went to his sister's side. She looked more peaceful than he would have imagined considering the circumstances. He felt as if waking her would be a crime. Slowly he placed a hand on her shoulder, and shook her gently. "Hey squirt," Arutha said. His voice was soft. "It's time for you to get up now." She did not respond, so he shook her again, slightly more vigorously. "Kate, you have to get up now." She mumbled something and opened her eyes.

Arutha smiled down at her. "Hey there, I'm glad to see that you slept well."

"Me too," she said plainly as she sat up. Arutha watched as she rubbed her eyes and yawned. He was very happy to see that she did not seem to be too shaken up, at least he would have a little bit more time to come to terms with recent events before he started worrying about his sister.

"Let us move on." Duncan came over to them with a gentle smile on his face. "We have much ground to cover before we reach our destination."

They were on the road again less than five minutes later, this time moving at a much slower pace. The road before them seemed endless, they had to travel hundreds of miles to the south. Each step Arutha took seemed more difficult than the first. They had covered so much distance already, and it was but a fraction of the distance that they would have to travel.

To pass the time, Kate took to interrogating Duncan about the Grey Wardens. "So, what exactly does a Grey Warden do?" Her question was broad, and could take time to answer, so Arutha focused his attention on the discussion, intent on learning what he could.

"A Grey Warden battles against the blight, dear girl." Duncan said.

Arutha was surprised by the simplicity of the answer; he had expected a great deal more in response to such a question. "When were the Grey Wardens originally founded?" Arutha asked, the cryptic answer Duncan had given had instigated his curiosity.

"The first Blight had already raged for 90 years. The world was in chaos. At Weisshaupt fortress in the desolate Anderfels, a meeting transpired. A group of warriors and mages, seasoned veterans who had known nothing their entire lifetimes except hopeless war, came together. When they left Weisshaupt, they had renounced their oaths to the Imperium. They were soldiers no longer: They were the Grey Wardens." That was the kind of answer Arutha had expected: a short, detailed history lesson that could inspire a great many more questions.

Arutha racked his brains for a question that would keep them talking for a great while, but he could think of none that would allow him to listen and not speak. He was grateful when Katherine jumped in with a question of her own, and Duncan began explaining the specific duties of a Grey Warden.

They passed the better part of three days this way, asking Duncan about the Grey Wardens and the Blight. Arutha listened more than he spoke, but he added to their conversations when he felt it was necessary.

It became apparent very quickly that Duncan was a very skilled survivalist. He knew a great deal about hunting and tracking, and he was able to keep them fed and watered as they trekked south. The constant travel kept him from becoming overcome with sorrow, and Arutha was glad to see that their journey seemed to have the same effect on Kate.

On the fourth day, their questions about the Grey Wardens ran out, and they continued their journey in private. Arutha began dwelling on the loss of his family, his friends, his home. He dwelt on it for countless hours, and he thought of all the ways he could kill Arl Howe. He was consumed by the idea of vengeance.

When Kate and Duncan talked, Arutha brooded, he had lost so much, and he would fight to the death to protect Kate. She was the only thing that he still had. And he loved her more than anything in the world. He would kill Howe; he would keep his sister safe.

On one particularly cloudy afternoon, Duncan pulled Arutha aside. "You have been growing distant. You must focus on the blight, anything you plan to do can come after."

"I can't do that! It is my responsibility, my duty, to make sure that Howe sees justice." Arutha's tone was outraged. He did not like the thought of anyone telling him that he could not pursue revenge.

"Your duty is to Ferelden. You are a Grey Warden recruit. You must see that the blight is ended."

Arutha bared his teeth at Duncan. Who was this man to tell him what to do? He had barged unwelcome into their lives, forced a great burden upon them.

"Restrain yourself Arutha. I know that you are in pain, but you must keep a level head. When we reach Ostagar, we will be thrust into battle, and you could be killed if you lose your temper."

The two men stared each other down, Duncan with a calm and collected expression, Arutha with a leer of almost unrestrained rage. Their stare-down did not go unnoticed by Kate, who was now eavesdropping on them. She stepped between them and turned to her brother. Arutha locked eyes with her and was startled by what he saw. She was giving him a desperate, pleading look. He realized then, that she could not handle him acting in this way. His emotions had to remain in check. He nodded at her, and slowly let out a deep breath.

They would drive back the darkspawn, and then Howe would pay.

As the tense moment passed, they once again set off towards Ostagar. All hope of conversation lost, for a time.

When they were no more than a day's journey from Ostagar, things once again became interesting. A group of bandits rushed out from their hiding places along the road, their weapons drawn.

"Give us your gold!" demanded the bandit who appeared to be their leader.

"Now now," Duncan said, his voice soft. "There is no need for you to attack us. We do not wish to fight you."

"We won't have to fight you if you give us all of your money, and maybe some time alone with that pretty girl of yours." The man sniggered stupidly. All of his men laughed with him.

Arutha felt his self control slipping away. His desire to hit something had been growing ever since Howe's men had taken over Highever. He drew his sword, and held it out towards the bandits. "You will not lay a hand on her."

"And I suppose you think you can stop us?" The bandit questioned. "Get them!"

The ragtag group of bandits surged forward at the three travelers, all of them with their weapons drawn. Arutha dashed forward, the sword and shield of Highever held proudly in his grasp. He met the first bandit head on, viciously swinging the sword. Arutha's assailant faltered under the strength of the blow, and Arutha pressed his advantage. It took mere seconds for the first of the bandits to fall, lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood.

Arutha looked up to see Duncan swiftly cut down two of their attackers. He moved with more grace and speed than any man Arutha had ever met, and he killed with calculated efficiency. Duncan was a very dangerous man.

It was over in minutes. The bandits had not stood a chance against Duncan, he had felled nearly all of them in the time it had taken Arutha to kill just the one.

"Let us continue," Duncan said, wiping his blades on the body of one of the fallen bandits.

That night, Arutha could not sleep. He stayed up late, staring into the slowly dying fire as he contemplated what he had seen earlier. Duncan had easily slaughtered those men. Could he perhaps learn how to fight like Duncan? If he could, he would be that much closer to taking the fight to Arl Howe.

"Something on your mind?" Duncan asked, sitting down beside Arutha and extending his hands to the fire.

"I've been thinking about today," Arutha said slowly.

"What specifically about today?" Duncan persisted.

"You killed several bandits in the time it took me to kill one. Where did you learn to fight like that?"

If Duncan was taken aback by Arutha's comment, he did not show it. He was silent for a time, and Arutha feared that he would not answer the query. Eventually the Grey Warden spoke, "I was trained by Grey Wardens, and my skills have been tested many times in combat .It is how I have grown strong."

Arutha nodded, "will you teach me?" he asked.

Duncan looked at him, and captured his gaze with his piercing dark brown eyes. "I will teach you once all this business at Ostagar has been concluded."

"Thank you," the young son of Highever said as he lay down.

-

Author's Note: Well? What do you think? Kate did not have a large part in this chapter, but I felt that this piece was a necessary transition to show the development of Arutha. Anyways, let me know what you think or ask any questions you have in a review!


	4. The Recruits and the Wardens

Author's Note

I apologize for the wait with this fourth chapter. I had the hardest time getting my characters into Ostagar. However, now that I have I wish to share it with all of my readers. Please enjoy this next chapter and tell me what you think about Arutha and Kate's encounters with some of the characters around the war camp. I had a great time writing this and I hope you'll all have a great time reading it. Leave a review to let me know what you think.

The Recruits and the Wardens

Ostagar was an ancient city, Arutha could tell that it had once been an amazing place, but now it was overrun with grass, trees, and weeds, and the stone was crumbling in many places. All around them were ancient stone structures that were larger than any building Arutha had ever laid eyes on. Everything about Ostagar seemed to tell of some long lost power.

"This is Ostagar," Duncan said to the two Couslands as they entered the city. "King Cailan and his men are already here, preparing a defense against the darkspawn horde. Hundreds of soldiers arrive every day in preparation for the war against the darkspawn."

As they made their way deeper into the city, signs of occupation became more evident. Soldiers were running around, all of them armed and armored, and there was an air of unease about the entire place. Arutha had a bad feeling about this place. There was something about it that wasn't quite right. Whatever it was, he couldn't put his finer on it, and so he resigned himself to watching the soldiers as they hurried about their business.

They turned a corner and made their way down what was once a road. Standing near the end of the street was a tall man wearing golden armor; behind him stood two guards.

"Ho there, Duncan."

"King Cailan," Duncan said to the man as they grasped one another's hands firmly. "I was not expecting a—"

"A royal welcome?" supplied the King.

Duncan nodded to Cailan, who childishly radiated respect for the old Warden. "I was beginning to fear that you would not make it back from Highever in time of the battle, but it seems I will have the mighty Duncan at my side after all." Duncan gripped Cailan's hand tightly and they shook hands briefly.

Cailan's eyes quickly drifted to Kate and Arutha. "I see you've brought two new recruits," the King spoke as he made his way over to them. "It is good to see more men and women worthy of becoming Wardens. You look familiar, have I met either of you before?"

Arutha nodded glumly, "I am Arutha, and this is my sister Katherine. We are the youngest children of Teyrn Bryce Cousland."

Cailan's face broke out into a smile, "Tell me, what news is there from Highever? We are still waiting for the rest of the soldiers he and Howe pledged to the war."

There was a long pause, Kate shook uncontrollably, and Arutha took a long moment to phrase his response. He did not yet know how deep this political scandal had gone. "There will be no more men arriving from Highever. I am afraid to say that the Teyrn and the Teyrna are dead." Arutha hung his head. Beside him, Kate tried pitifully to stifle a sob.

Arutha did not have to look up to imagine the look of surprise on Cailan's face. He could plainly hear it in the King's voice when he addressed Duncan. "What do you know of this? Is this true?"

Duncan was quick to reply, "Unfortunately, it is Your Majesty. Rendon Howe has shown himself a traitor. Had we three not escaped, he would have told you whatever story he wished."

"Truly I am sorry," said Cailan. Sorry? He was sorry? His family had just been murdered and the King of Ferelden was sorry? "I cannot do anything to help you right now, but know that once we have defeated the darkspawn I will turn my army north and bring Howe to justice."

The anger that Arutha had been fighting off since they'd left Highever rose to a dangerous level. He stood before the most powerful man in Ferelden, his head still hung in sorrow with his teeth clamped firmly in place, for he knew that if he opened his mouth right now, he would say something he would regret.

"T-thank you, Your Majesty," Katherine managed to get out between deep shuddering breaths.

At this, Arutha raised his head and locked eyes with the King. Cailan visibly faltered under Arutha's not so subtle glare of disapproval. Cailan let out a nervous chuckle.

"No doubt you wish to tell your elder brother Fergus," Cailan's voice was all business like. Arutha doubted he really cared at all. What a bastard. "Unfortunately he took some of his men to go scouting in the wilds. He will return later, but I don't know if you'll be able to see him until after the battle." Cailan stopped speaking and there was a lull in the conversation. Arutha had nothing pleasant to say, and Kate was busy trying to keep her tears in check. Sensing the danger of remaining with the two youngest Couslands, Cailan took a step back.

"I'm afraid I must go. Loghain waits to bore me with his talk of strategy. I will speak to you again after the battle." And with that, the King of Ferelden turned and walked across the bridge, heading towards the heart of Ostagar.

"Well," Arutha said heavily. "He didn't seem to take the darkspawn threat seriously at all. He sounded as if we were going to wipe the floor with them. I've never seen the leader of a war camp so relaxed."

Duncan put a hand on Arutha's shoulder. "Do not hold it against him. He is still young, and he knows little of war."

Arutha shrugged away from Duncan, taking several steps forward. "That is no reason for him to act like a fool!"

"Arutha, please calm down." It was not Duncan's voice, but Katherine's, and his sister did have some sway over him at present. He had promised to be strong for her. He had to keep his promise.

"I-," he began, but he stopped himself quickly. "Yes, of course Kate, I'm sorry." He needed to hit something, very, very hard, and he didn't know who or what was going to be on the receiving end of his fist, be he did not envy who or whatever it was.

His fuming was short lived, for Duncan quickly motioned for them to make their way across the bridge. "I fear the threat here is greater than the king realizes, but I cannot ask him to act solely on my feelings."

"Then perhaps we should make our own preparation quickly," Kate noted as they trudged along the bridge.

Arutha was only partly paying attention; he was focused on the large forest that loomed to the south. The Korcari Wilds. Aldous had told him much of the place, but his old school teacher had insisted that Flemeth was nothing more than a legend. Personally, Arutha wanted to see for himself whether or not there was a Flemeth. Perhaps there would be an opportunity for him to find out for himself some time.

He heard Duncan speak again, and turned his head away from the vast expanse of trees. "Feel free to explore the camp, the other recruits should be around. When you've finished looking around, find Alistair, the other Grey Warden in the camp, and meet me by the Grey Warden's section of the camp. Your hound is free to stay with me while you explore the camp."

Tak let out an excited bark.

It seemed reasonable. There was still some time before the bulk of the darkspawn horde reached them. He would have to prepare some form of speech for Fergus. There was no way he could go into that conversation without preparation.

His thoughts drifted to the mangled bodies of Oriana and Oren, and a wave of guilt washed over him. If he'd been awake sooner then perhaps his nephew would still be alive. He felt sick.

"Arutha?"

He looked to his left, Kate had placed her hand on his shoulder and was looking at him with a worried expression.

"Yes?" He asked, mentally cursing the way his voice shook when he spoke. He couldn't show any weakness. Kate needed him.

"Are you okay?" She pressed.

"Oh, yes. Yes of course. I simply let my mind wander a bit, that's all." She narrowed her eyes at him, and for a moment Arutha was afraid she wouldn't believe his lie. He was far from okay, and he knew that he would be for a very long time.

They were silent for a few moments, both siblings allowing themselves a moment to try and accept the events that had occurred. It would take so much time to get used to all of this. Their family was gone, and they were to become Grey Wardens, or at least one of them was to become a Grey Warden.

"We may as well go look around the camp," Arutha suggested.

Kate nodded her consent and they made their way across the bridge and up the rise. They were now in the heart of Ostagar. Directly in front of them was a massive ruined tower, to their left a small palisade and tallow plumed tent with the banner of the King attatched, and to their right were two men dressed in heavy plate armor: Templars. They were standing guard at the entrance to a few of the mages' tents.

Arutha stepped towards the Templars. They were not always particularly pleasant folk, but he did not want to risk running into the King again so soon. Kate followed behind him, her bright green eyes taking in everything as they approached a large wooden platform.

"…We stand here in this hour, good folk of Ferelden, and we contemplate the death that may await."

He heard the voice of the Chantry sister before he could clearly make her out, but she was there, standing on the platform and preaching to a small group of assembled soldiers and knights. She continued as they drew closer.

"Death is no failure, my friends. Should it find you, you will not have failed your king… you will have served your Maker."

That was quite a load of shit, Arutha thought. He had never been very religious, and he believed that a shield was more protective than a blessing from the maker. And death, death was bad. It was nothing worth glorifying.

"Die in this battle and when you stand before the Maker in the land beyond the Fade, He shall not find you wanting."

The assembled men and women had their eyes glued upon the Chantry sister or their heads bowed. Kate too watched attentively. It was as though she thought the Maker might just be capable of bringing their parents back. Impossible. But it never hurt to have a hope, even if neither of the Couslands in camp were very pious.

"Go not into death gladly, but with the knowledge that evil has been held at bay by your spilled blood. And if you go to stand beside the Maker, go with our blessing. For you shall not be forgotten. My friends, let us bow our head and remember those who have fallen and-"

Arutha was no longer listening. He was much more interested in the shout of frustration that originated behind them. As the young Cousland turned, he heard the unmistakable sound of a man being slapped very, very hard. Deciding to investigate, Arutha walked over to the man who had just been hit. He was rubbing his cheek cursing under his breath.

"That didn't seem to go well," Arutha said with an air of cynical amusement.

The man looked up at him, and gave a chuckle. "I suppose it didn't. Name's Daveth."

"Arutha," the brown haired youth returned. "Nice to meet you."

Daveth gave Arutha a calculating look before finally saying. "You're not what I thought you'd be."

Arutha was rather taken aback by this strange statement. "What in all of Thedas is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, me and ser knight were just betting on who the third recruit would be. Personally I was hoping for a beautiful young woman with long hair and poor eyesight."

"How did you-"

"That's simple. Look around Arutha. You're dressed differently than the others, and you walk differently. Straighter and with a sense of purpose. It's pretty easy to tell who here's a Grey Warden Recruit."

This man was odd, if you were going to put it lightly. "I… See." Arutha said rather lamely as he took a cautious step away from Daveth. "Well, I have to go now." He turned and walked briskly away from Daveth. He was afraid that spending too much time with that man would turn him into a perverted fool.

He spotted Kate talking to an elderly woman dressed in mage robes. Their conversation seemed to be going much better than the encounter he'd just had with Daveth, the swashbuckling moron.

As he neared his sister and the mage he picked up a snippet of their conversation. The mage spoke with the tone of one who had been teaching young children for too long, "…At least, that's what the Chant of Light says."

"The Chantry," Arutha said, cutting into their conversation. "Says many things." He made it clear that he did not agree with the Chantry in that one statement. He hoped that the mage felt similarly.

The old mage turned to him and said, "It may be allegory, taught to teach us that our sins are the cause of human suffering. It is as good an explanation as any for now."

Before Arutha could say anything else, Kate spoke up. She was polite and thoughtful in her response, and it vexed him to hear her say, "At least it's something to ponder." Wynne agreed with Kate, naturally, and before Arutha and Kate could take their leave of the old woman, she spoke again.

"You two are related, are you not?"

"How can you tell?" Kate asked. She had always been told that she looked like her mother, while Arutha had often heard that he looked like their father.

"You have the same shade of dark brown hair, and you carry yourselves in a similar manner. Not to mention the familiarity with which you interrupted each other." The old mage was perceptive, Arutha gave her that.

Arutha scrutinized her. "We're siblings, what of it?"

"Oh, nothing. I was merely unaware that Grey Wardens recruited more than one person from a family. At any rate, I'm sure Duncan has his reasons, and I'm sure you two have something better to do than stand around and talk to an old mage all day." She waved them off and made her way into one of the tents.

"The people in camp seem very agreeable, wouldn't you say Arutha?" Kate asked as they made their way up another rise and into what looked like an outdoor hospital. Many injured men and women lay on cots while nurses and doctors saw to their wounds. Not far off was another sister of the Chantry preaching to another group of men and women.

"Mostly," Arutha responded as they walked along the trail and stopped to admire the statue behind the Chantry sister.

"What's that mean?" Kate inquired as she tucked a loose strand of her dark hair behind her ear.

"I met one of the other Grey Warden recruits," Arutha offered. "He was a disaster of a man."

"Is that so? I suppose I'll have to see for myself." That moment was peaceful for him. Their banter had returned, and the moment was rather lighthearted in comparison to the rest of the events that had been going on.

Unfortunately, the moment was short lived, for at that moment a rather large man with a large nose came to speak with them. "Excuse me, but I couldn't help but hear you mention Grey Wardens. I am Ser Jory, and you must be the third Recruit we've been waiting for." He motioned to Arutha when he made his last statement.

Kate was not pleased at being overlooked. "Excuse me, _Ser_, but I happen to be a Grey Warden recruit myself." And so returned the sassy and extremely dangerous Katherine Cousland that Arutha knew and loved.

"My apologies. I was only aware of one other recruit, Miss?" The guy was totally hopeless. Where Daveth had been a womanizer and a fool, Jory was a blockhead. He spoke slowly and he clearly had no backbone, but to be fair, Arutha was afraid of Katherine at times himself.

"I am Katherine, Katherine Cousland," Kate said defiantly to him as if daring him to comment.

"My Lady!" Jory exclaimed. "Oh forgive my rudeness. I did not know that one of the new recruits would be a noble."

Arutha rolled his eyes, but chose that moment to add to the conversation, "Not one of them, Ser Jory. I am her elder brother Arutha. Duncan brought both of us down here from Highever." Arutha found a great deal of pleasure in watching Jory's face over the next few seconds. It was clear that Jory had rarely spoken freely with nobles by the way he stuttered and awkwardly bowed his head to the two of them.

"Well, I best get back to Duncan My Lady, My Lord. Excuse me." As Jory walked back down the slope Arutha burst out laughing, which caught the attention of several soldiers nearby.

"Did you see his face Kate?" Arutha managed to get out between gales of laughter. "He had absolutely no idea how to act, not that I would mind if he was rude to us, but still."

"I saw, Arutha. Oh come off it!" She commanded. "It wasn't that funny. The poor man was embarrassed out of his wits." It was no use, Arutha continued to laugh for another minute or so before he finally calmed down enough to wipe a single tear from his red face.

He hadn't felt so good in quite some time.

"Come on brother, let's go looking for Alistair. I'm sure we've spent enough time dillydallying." Before Arutha could comment or object, Kate had walked down the rise and turned left, walking passed a very disgruntled looking quartermaster, and making her way up another rise.

Arutha followed her quickly, lest she leave him behind, and he caught up with her by the time they had both crested the rise. From up another rise they could hear the voices of two men arguing. "Let's investigate, shall we?" Arutha asked deviously.

They began walking up the rise just in time to hear an angry voice shout: "…Yes, I was harassing you by delivering a message!"

The voices grew quieter and Arutha came face to face with a dark skinned mage. He looked livid, and he glared at Arutha with untamed ferocity. "Get out of the way, fool!" He commanded before shoving Arutha aside and stomping off.

"You know, one good thing about the Blight is how it brings people together." Arutha looked up to see the second man, the one he had heard shout, smiling at them. He was tall, handsome, and he wore his armor with a sense of comfort and familiarity. He had dark blond hair and blue eyes that were slightly lighter in color that Arutha's sapphire ones.

The comment itself made Arutha like the man. He spoke in the same sarcastic tones that he did, and he seemed to have a similar personality. "Yes," the orphaned noble said as he too smiled. "I know exactly what you mean."

"It's like a party; we could all stand in a circle and hold hands! That would give the darkspawn something to think about." Arutha chuckled at the man's comment and Kate laughed. "We haven't met, have we? I don't suppose either of you happens to be another mage?"

"Would that make your day worse?" Kate asked. Her voice was different, lighter. One she usually reserved for Ser Gilmore. Arutha chanced a glance in her direction. He could see in her eyes the conflict. She found him attractive, but she was very shaken up by the death of Ser Gilmore. There was no way that she would make a move towards him. At least, not any time soon.

"Hardly, I'd just like to know my chances of being turned into a toad at any given moment." He paused. "Wait a moment, I do know who you two are. Duncan's new recruits from Highever. I should have recognized you straight away."

Kate cocked her head to one side, "How could you recognize us? We've never even met."

"Duncan sent word; he spoke quite highly of you. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Alistair, the new Grey Warden. As the junior member of the order I will be accompanying you when you prepare for the Joining."

Arutha nodded. "Well Alistair, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Arutha."

"And my name is Katherine, but most people just call me Kate."

Alistair smiled, "Duly noted, Kate. So," he said, turning to look at Arutha, "have either of you ever encountered darkspawn before."

Both Couslands shook their heads.

"When I fought my first one, I wasn't prepared for how monstrous it was. I just want the two of you to be on your guard. Anyhow, we should get back to Duncan. I imagine he is eager to get things started."

"Of course," Arutha said and the three of them made their way back down to the Grey Warden's section of the camp. "I can honestly say that I am looking forward to traveling with you Alistair."

"Well," the Grey Warden replied, "That is certainly a nice change."

They walked in silence for several minutes before they were interrupted by a tall man with dark skin. "Excuse me, but do any of you think you could help me with something?" He spoke slowly, and it was clear that he was concerned with something.

"We can certainly try, my good man," Arutha said. "What seems to be the problem?"

"One of the Mabari hounds ingested darkspawn blood. He's very sick, but he won't let me near enough to treat him. Could you perhaps put a muzzle on him for me?"

Kate was the first one to reply. "Yes of course." She was all businesslike, and Arutha knew the source of that. She had her own Mabari hound, and it was clear she was not about to let another of the breed suffer. It took her fewer than thirty seconds to slip into the dog's kennel and calm the poor beast enough to let her close. She slipped the muzzle on the dog and exited the kennel.

"Thank you miss," the kennel master said gratefully.

"It was nothing at all," she replied with a smile.

They departed again and were soon standing with Duncan, Daveth, and Jory near a large campfire.

Duncan turned to greet them, "You found Alistair did you? I assume you're ready to begin preparations. Assuming, of course, that you're quite finished riling up mages?" The old Grey Warden's voice was calm, but the serious tone was very clear.

"I didn't do it on purpose, the Revered Mother ambushed me. I swear, the way she wields guilt we should stick her in the army." Alistair's protests were acknowledged and ignored, however.

"We do not need to give anyone more ammunition against us, Alistair."

"Of Course." Alistair said with a nod.

Duncan seemed satisfied, for he continued on with business as though nothing had happened."You five will be heading into the Korcari Wilds to perform two tasks. The first is to obtain four vials of darskpawn blood, one for each recruit."

That sounded like rather messy business, and he could only guess what the blood might be needed for. Still, he suspected that he would not get an answer if he asked about the purpose of the blood, so he kept silent.

"And the second task?" Kate pressed.

"There was once a Grey Warden outpost in the wilds, abandoned long ago when we could no longer afford to maintain such outposts. It was recently brought to our attention that several scrolls, magically sealed for safekeeping. Alistair, I want you to retrieve these scrolls if you can." Alistair nodded in consent to Duncan's request and began preparing his things for a trip into the wilds.

Arutha nodded and spoke, "Find the archive and four vials of blood. Understood."

Author's Note

That is it for the fourth chapter of Kinship. I really hope you enjoyed reading it! Let me know what you though in a review.


	5. Into the Wilds

Author's Notes: I know that I haven't updated in a long time. My serious procrastination is a problem, I apologize. But rejoice! I have finally finished yet another chapter of this epic tale.

The Korcari Wilds were definitely not what Arutha had thought they would be. Everything in the forest was much darker; the trees themselves seemed almost evil. None of their group of five spoke as they made their way into the vast expanses of unexplored territory that now crawled with darkspawn.

In the front of their little procession was Alistair, tall and vigilant, as he guided the four warden Recruits toward impending danger. Next was Ser Jory, who by all appearances would rather be anywhere else. His countenance was a disgrace to Grey Wardens everywhere. Behind Jory was Kate, her green eyes scanned the wilds for any sign of danger. Following her, Daveth, whose eyes were decidedly in a place they shouldn't have been: Kate's bottom. In the rear was Arutha, he had volunteered to be the rear guard so that they'd be safe if attacked from behind. The young Cousland had not trusted Jory of Daveth to do it, and he would no sooner put Kate in danger than mingle with at witch of the wilds. Witches were evil in the Korcari Wilds, and very dangerous.

The path sloped downward and leveled out some twenty feet below. On the flat and swamplike ground there were clear signs of recent battle. Arutha feared that Fergus and his men had been ambushed. It seemed that Alistair had also noticed the signs of battle, for he quickened his pace to a trot and made a beeline for the damaged wagons and bloodstained grass.

Several corpses littered the ground, most of them men wearing mutilated shirts of chain and clutching swords in their lifeless hands. However, there were some darkspawn corpses that littered the field of battle. This group of men had been ambushed.

Their formation crumbled when Kate dashed out of their line. She ran to the side of a soldier who still drew breath. He looked up at her and smiled. "So I have finally passed into the realm of our Maker," he said weakly.

Kate shook her head and took his hand, "You still draw breath yet, brave soldier." Gently she ran her hand through his hair and across his cheek. Her touch seemed to alleviate some of the pain. "Do you think you can walk?" She asked him.

"I… Do not know, my lady. Perhaps with some help I will be able to." He did not speak again, but instead began coughing violently.

Kate turned and made eye contact with Arutha, who silently acknowledged her request and moved to help the man up. The soldier took Arutha's hand and was pulled to his feet. Arutha put his other hand on the soldier's torso to help steady him. "We should get you back to camp," he said.

"I think that I can make it back on my own, but I'm bleeding rather badly." The soldier wobbled dangerously as he spoke. Arutha shifted the man's weight so that the soldier was leaning against him.

"I don't have any bandages with me," Arutha muttered.

"Nor do I," added Kate.

"I have some in my pack," Alistair declared. It took the Grey Warden only seconds to bandage up the soldier, who muttered his thanks and stumbled away from them, back towards Ostagar.

"Do you hear that?" Jory demanded of the group at large. "An entire patrol of seasoned soldiers, slaughtered!"

Alistair sighed, and personally Arutha couldn't blame him. Jory was, to put it lightly, a blithering idiot and a coward. "Relax, Ser Jory."

"No!" the knight protested. "How many darkspawn do you think we can kill, huh? A dozen? A hundred? There is an entire army out here!"

"Jory!" Alistair pressed. "We will be fine if we're careful."

"How do you know?" Jory was frantic now, and Arutha was getting annoyed. Kate let out an annoyed sound and returned to her previous occupation of looking around to make sure nothing was coming. Daveth had chosen not to speak. Perhaps there was hope for the perverted man after all.

"I'm no coward," Jory continued.

_Yes you are_, Arutha thought vehemently.

"But this is foolish and reckless. We should go back." There was silence for a full minute before anybody spoke. Arutha was having a hard time in deciding whether to punch Jory or try to make him see reason. Alistair seemed to be having similar thoughts.

It was Kate who broke the silence. "Overcoming these dangers is part of our test." _There!_ Arutha thought gleefully. There was no way Jory was going to be able to pansy his way out of that one!

"That's… true," Jory finally said.

Alistair, who had apparently had just about enough of Jory said, "Know this: all Grey Wardens can sense darkspawn. Whatever their cunning, I guarantee you they won't take us by surprise. That's why I'm here."

Daveth took that moment to join the conversation. "You see Ser Knight? We might die, but at least we'll be warned about it." Arutha hated both of them so much.

"Let's get a move on, shall we?" Arutha pressed, hoping against hope that Daveth and Jory would stop talking. They did, and the group returned to their march through the Korcari Wilds.

The peace was not meant to last, however. They had not walked more than one hundred yards when Alistair held up his hand and signaled for them to stop. "There are darkspawn ahead," he said. "Be ready." All of them drew their weapons. Arutha his longsword and wooden buckler (the Shield of Highever and the Family Sword still rested safely on his back.) Kate pulled to long daggers from her belt. Jory drew his claymore, and Daveth prepared his bow. Alistair, with his Grey Warden sword and Templar's shield, remained in the lead as they approached the darkspawn.

On a small cliff overlooking the trail they walked on, the darkspawn waited. Nothing could have prepared him for the sight of the foul creatures, or the smell that emanated from them. When he looked upon their sick and twisted forms he froze, eyes wide.

Alistair rushed forward, engaging the nearest of the darkspawn: a large one with an axe. It was wearing what appeared to be armor. Jory and Kate were soon at his side and Daveth loosed an arrow from somewhere behind him.

He stood there, his mind racing, thoughts of death consumed him and he shied away, taking hesitant steps towards the battle. And then something clicked. As he watched Kate battling with one of the darkspawn, he realized he would gladly fight and die for her. That was all the persuading he needed.

Arutha raised his sword and charged the foulest enemy there was. A darkspawn engaged him, their blades meeting viciously. The loud clang that was made was nothing compared to the roar of the darkspawn. The large sword wielding monster in front of him was prepared to kill. It was terrifying.

The darkspawn pulled away and struck at him again. Arutha raised his wooden shield to deflect the blow as he prepared for an attack of his own. The darkspawn's sword embedded itself in the wood of his small shield, and Arutha felt himself being pulled forward when the darkspawn attempted to pull its sword free.

Arutha pulled back, now trying to match the darkspawns considerable strength with his own. He found that he was incapable of doing so. Swearing very loudly Arutha swiped his sword at the Darkspawn's legs. It screamed in pain as the metal tore through the thin armor and rended the flesh. Black blood poured from its body. It smelled even worse than the darkspawn, if that were possible.

Taking the temporary advantage, Arutha pulled the shield free and staggered back. The darkspawn approached still. He raised his sword and brought it down on the darkspawn. It used its sickly curved blade to parry his strike.

Arutha grunted, his muscles tensing. They came apart, eyes locked, swords raised. Arutha engaged the beast again, this time more carefully. He let the beast swing at him, and he stepped back. It overbalanced and Arutha tok the opportunity to take the darkspawn's head from its shoulders. It collapsed in a fountain of black blood.

As it fell he looked about. Kate and Alistair had dispatched the other darkspawn and were currently running up a hill towards several more darkspawn with bows and arrows. Jory was trailing along behind them, and Daveth was, he assumed, still firing arrows.

Following the others, Arutha charged up the hill sword in hand. The smaller darkspawn were decidedly easier to dispatch than their larger counterparts. They had bows and small daggers, and they were overwhelmed easily, requiring but a few sword strokes to dispatch.

When the battle was won, Arutha found himself standing beside Alistair overlooking what had been their battlefield. As the darkspawn lay on the ground gushing fountains of black blood, Alistair pulled his pack from his shoulders and opened it. The grey Warden pulled out several small vials and handed one to each recruit in turn. "Fill them," he said.

So the first part of their joining had begun.

Arutha trudged back down the hill to the large darksapwn he had dispatched first. For some reason, he felt as though the blood needed to come from this particular monster. Bending down, he scooped the blood still dripping from its neck right into the vial.

When the vial was full he lifted it up and took it back up the hill to where Alistair was standing. The blond Grey Warden offered him a stopper, which Arutha gladly accepted, and placed at the opening of his vial.

With their darkspawn blood in tow, they made their way deeper into the wilds. Everything was going smoothly; at least they hadn't run into any witches yet. Arutha suspected that running into a witch of the wilds was more dangerous than a small group of darkspawn.

The further they made it into the dense forest of the wilds, the greater Arutha's sense of unease became. He could tell that they were in danger here, despite his protests to Jory that they would be safe.

As they walked, Arutha assessed the damage to his small wooden shield. The gash that was left behind from the darkspawn's blade had seriously damaged the shield. It was still in good enough condition to be used, and Arutha was grateful for that.

"Why do you not use the sword and shield you carry on your back?" Jory asked him as they made their way down a sodden stretch of grass.

Arutha turned to look at the knight, a little surprise. If anyone would have understood the value of a sword and shield that _belonged_ to you, it would have been Jory. Alas, the witless knight continued being witless, and Arutha found that he still disliked him. Nevertheless, he answered. "The weapons upon my back are my family's. It is true that they are much finer weapons than my own, but I have held this sword and shield against many foes and I will not just throw them aside."

Jory did not respond for several minutes, and Arutha was foolish enough to think that knight was done asking ridiculous questions. "But wouldn't you be more efficient in battle if you used the superior equipment?"

Arutha sighed heavily, fingering the hilt of _his_ sword. "I've no time to adapt to the weight of the shield or the balance of the sword; therefore, I will be much less effective in battle when using them." His tone was annoyed, and he spoke slowly as if here were addressing a five year old.

Alistair found their banter incredibly amusing, and Kate, it seemed, also found amusement at Arutha's expense. Both of them were grinning.

The merriment was short-lived, though, for Alistair stopped them and said, "There are more darkspawn nearby."

All of them drew their weapons, scanning the wilds for signs of danger. "They're just up ahead," Alistair whispered. "Be ready to fight."

They crept forward, their footsteps much louder than they needed to be. Just as the darkspawn came into view, they were peppered with arrows. Acting solely on reflex, Arutha stepped in front of Kate, to protect her from the darkspawn's arrows. Most of them were not readily aimed at either of the young Couslands, but the two that did bit painfully into Arutha's flesh. He grunted in pain and stumbled backwards. The wounds hurt, but they were not nearly as bad as the one that had almost killed him the night Howe's men attacked.

"Arutha!" Kate cried.

He smiled to her, to show that he would be okay, and reached down to pull the arrows from his armor. It was rather awkward, considering that he still held his sword, but he managed to remove both arrows and turn his attention to the darkspawn.

Alistair and Jory had engaged three of the larger darkspawn, and Daveth was firing upon the smaller darkspawn. When Kate saw that Arutha would live, she ran into the fray as well, her two small blades flashing dangerously.

Not wanting to be left behind, Arutha moved forward as well, and though he was somewhat slowed by the wounds, he was still dangerous. He joined the fray next to Alistair and Jory, their combined might being greater than that of the darkspawn. Arutha's blade bit cruelly into one of the large darkspawn's sides, and it fell back, bleeding. Alistair dispatched another with a violent slash of his blade, leaving a deep gash from its heart to its waist.

The darkspawn who still stood roared viciously as their bent and blackened blades met with the shining metal of their adversaries. With two more quick strokes, Arutha dispatched another darkspawn. It collapsed with a shriek, and then lay still.

The rest of the battle was quick and bloody. Weapons flashed, darkspawn fell, and from somewhere far away, a black bird watched their party with a great deal of interest.

They trooped down a path and under a large log that had fallen between two rises in the terrain. Hanging from the log were several men, all dead. In their chests were swords and daggers, their hands were bound behind their backs, and the ropes that they'd been hung with were deformed and black.

When they were directly under the log, Alistair spoke. "Look there, poor slobs. That just seems so excessive."

Arutha couldn't help but agree with the Grey Warden. What they now looked upon was a gruesome sight, and he could have done without it.

"Let's just move on, shall we?" asked Jory. Arutha cringed at the sound of the large man's voice breaking. There was no way that Jory was tough enough to be a Grey Warden. He voiced all of his discomforts and complained frequently. Neither Duncan nor Alistair had shown such a weakness. Judging by all he knew about Grey Wardens, they would not show their weaknesses to anyone. It was a good trait to have, Arutha thought.

And they did move on, making their way deeper and deeper into the uncharted expanses that were the Korcari Wilds.

Arutha could feel the tension in the air thickening as their small group slowly made their way farther and farther from the ruins of Ostagar. None of them _wanted _to be trudging around in this Makerforsaken place, but they had a mission to complete.

As they walked, he noticed Alistair reach for his sword. The others must have as well, because they all drew their weapons silently and with grave determination.

"Look there," Daveth said quietly.

Up ahead was a lone darkspawn. It held a staff and gazed at them menacingly. This was something new, something different. They took a few steps toward this new enemy and all hell broke loose. From behind them several of the smaller darkspawn emerged from their hiding places, and the darkspawn before them who bore the staff let loose a blast of magical energy.

Arutha ducked away from one of the small darkspawn's blades and ran right into Daveth, who had been blown backwards by some attack from the spell casting monster on the bridge. With an 'oof', Arutha managed to stop Daveth from knocking him over. The rogue nodded in thanks to him, and the two Grey Warden Recruits rejoined the fray.

Their work was quick and bloody. The four small darkspawn that had ambushed them lay dead on the cold grass, but their chief concern was still on the bridge up ahead.

Alistair ran forward and the rest of tem followed. They had no time to allow the darkspawn to cast any more spells. It was too dangerous as it was. Unfortunately, they did not kill the darkspawn as quickly as Arutha had hoped. Everything exploded and combusted and Arutha felt himself being blown backwards. It seemed that all of them had been hit by the spell. Some sort of exploding fireball.

"Kate!" Arutha called. "Kate, are you alright?"

From somewhere to his left, he heard her response. "I'll live." He could hear her trying to talk through her pain. And Arutha understood. That spell had _hurt_! Arutha grunted as he sat up and got his bearings. Alistair was already on his feet, and he was helping Kate get up.

Their fight was not over, however. The darkspawn spell-caster was still alive, and it had run off. Their small group rose and prepared themselves to cross the bridge, much to Jory's dismay. This time, though, Arutha couldn't blame him. He liked it better when the mages were on his side.

Across the bridge another group of darkspawn waited for them. These darkwpawn were much more dangerous than the first, and they had been waiting for them. Even as the first darkwpawn let out a blood curdling battle cry, Arutha knew they were in trouble. He sprinted forward, fully intent on silencing the darkspawn mage before it had the chance to use that fire spell again.

He was met by two of the larger darkspawn, both of then wielded large spiked battleaxes. His shield was useless against such weapons, so he focused on the offensive. All around him, he could hear the sounds of the others fighting the darkspawn, but he dared not look away, for he feared he would be cut down if he did.

From behind him, Arutha heard Alistair shout out in victory. It seemed he had felled some of the darkspawn. "I'll get the Emissary!" The Grey Warden cried and charged across the battlefield.

The two axes were coming for Arutha's face, he had to move. He dived forward, falling to the ground between the darkspawns' feet. He swiped viciously at the feet of his two enemies, but to no avail. Perhaps ironically, it was Ser Jory who eneded up saving his life. The large man brought his two handed sword down upon the two darkspawn, and a moment later, the battle was over.

"Thanks," Arutha said to the knight as he got to his feet, knees shaking. Jory only nodded in response.

Alistair joined them, wiping his blade clean of darkspawn blood with a ratty old rag. "Stay on your guard. There are more darkspawn nearby." All of the recruits nodded. They sheathed their weapons and made their way across a small stream and up a hill. There were no signs of battle here, but Alistair seemed more on edge than he had been thus far. Arutha could only guess that there was a great deal of darkspawn nearby.

And there were!

At the top of the hill, surrounding the ruins of an old building, the darkspawn stood ready. Arutha tightly gripped his old sword and buckler. There were darkspawn to be killed. They began their charge up the hill towards the darkspawn… and were immediately intercepted by a hail of arrows.

They dived for cover, each of them swearing a series of very different, very colorful profanities.

Arutha glanced over the fallen log he had taken refuge behind. He could see the tiny forms of the darkspawn firing arrows at them. How on earth were they going to get out of this one? Arutha could see no feasible way to get up the hill, and he did not have a bow. He was complete rubbish as a marksman, something his sister often held over him when they were younger. Kate could have taken them from a distance, but she hadn't left Highever with a bow.

His gaze moved from the darkspawn and he sank back behind the log. His blue eyes traveled from his sister to each of their companions in turn. All of them ducked low underneath fallen trees or pressed up against gnarled trunks.

And then he saw it!

From where they were, one or two people could sneak up the hill and behind the darkspawn. There were enough trees, and the way the hill sloped Arutha was sure that they could make the trip, if they were careful. If only they had a distraction.

He sighed heavily, the darkspawn would see them if they didn't have something to focus on. What a predicament they were in.

Well? Please drop a review and let me know what you think!


	6. The Witch of the Wilds

The Witch of the Wilds

As the arrows thudded into the logs their small party hid behind, Arutha thought desperately about possible distractions. He supposed that one of them could just run out from their cover and pretend to madly charge the darkspawn while others crept around them. It could work, and it probably would, but whoever made the feint would have a slim shot at survival.

He could not ask any of them to take such a risk, and he was loathe to do it himself. Wasn't there some other way that they could get up the hill? He had a feeling that the ruin the darkspawn were guarding was the one they needed to get to. The one with the treaties. The Maker truly did have a lovely sense of humor, didn't he?

Arutha took a deep breath and braced himself for what he was about to do. "Kate, Alistair!" he said to them. "I'm going to draw their arrows, when that happens, I want you two to go up the rise and kill those darkspawn." To illustrate what he'd been talking about, he gestured to the slope that would provide them cover from the darkspawn.

"Are you crazy?" Kate shouted back at him. "You could be killed!"

Arutha rolled his eyes, "I take it you have a better idea, then?"

She was silent.

"I didn't think so." He looked out over the wilds, and found his gaze had wandered to a single black crow. Its golden eyes gazed curiously at him, and Arutha found himself wishing one of the darkspawn arrows would send him from this world and back to his family. He let out a roar, releasing some of the anger that had plagued him since that night in Highever, and charged the darkspawn.

As he had hoped, the darkspawn focused on Arutha, their arrows speeding in his direction. They did not deter him, though. He continued his charge, half hoping that he would be struck down. But an arrow never hit him, instead, he found himself face to face with a darkspawn wielding two blades, one a twisted and vile longsword, the other a smaller, enchanted dagger.

Arutha swung his sword as hard as he could; his rage still fueled him, though somewhere in the back of his mind he knew it made him stupid as well. The large darkspawn batted his blade aside easily with the dagger and swung it's blade at him. Arutha used his already splintering buckler to deflect the blow. Pain surged through his arm and he fell to his knees, glaring defiantly at the darkspawn. It swiped as his head with its blades, but Arutha pulled himself away before he could be decapitated. He didn't escape unscathed however; a long open wound made its way up his cheek, the dagger had cut open his flesh.

He pulled the broken buckler from his arm and engaged the darkspawn in a duel, their blades flashed dangerously, metal rang on metal, and Arutha quickly became aware that he was losing the fight to his creature. He was being pushed back, and he knew that he'd eventually be hit from behind by another darkspawn.

Before that could happen, a pair of daggers protruded from the darkspawn's chest, and it fell to the ground, completely lifeless. Kate stood there, glowering down at the dead darkspawn, her blades thickly covered with the black ichor.

"What were you thinking!" Alistair shouted at him. "You could have been killed! Charging up the hill was stupid enough, but you engaged a Hurlock Alpha with no regard to your own safety!"

"It worked, didn't it?" Arutha put in weakly. He knew he'd been acting foolish. In that moment he'd stopped caring about his own life. And then he realized that he didn't much care what Alistair thought. He _wanted _to die.

"You could have died!" Alistair continued, now glaring at Arutha.

"So?" Arutha retorted. He knew immediately after he said it that it had been a mistake. The hurt look on his sister's face made him want to crawl under a rock and die, which, when he thought about it, was the opposite of what he needed to do. The look on her face reminded him even more of what they'd lost, and how he had to be strong for her.

Alistair let the argument die there, and Arutha had a feeling that he would be hearing a lot more on the matter of his life when they got out of the Wilds.

In silence their small party entered the ruins of the Grey Warden tower. As they walked, Kate fixed her brother with a look that made him very uncomfortable, a look he supposed he deserved. As they made their way through the fallen stones, Arutha spotted a battered old chest. He made his way to it as quickly as he could, wanting nothing more than to get away from Kate's scrutinizing gaze.

He dropped to one knee, moved the old lid aside, and peered into the chest. It was empty. The Grey Warden documents were not inside; he looked up to see if any of the others had found the documents. All of them were standing around the ruin just as empty handed as he was. _They aren't here._ So the second half of their trek had been pointless, a waste, really.

Before any of them could say anything, a voice sounded from behind them. "Well, well, what have we here?" Arutha spun around, as did the others. He expected entirely to see a crazed chasind woman looking at him, perhaps wielding a very large axe. Instead, he found himself looking at the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. She was tall, pale, with black hair, striking golden eyes, and clothing that left very little to the imagination. He felt his throat go dry, and he suddenly became very self-conscious of the fact that he was covered from head to foot in darkspawn ichor.

"Are you a vulture, I wonder?" Even as she continued speaking, Arutha made an effort to wipe the blood from his face, knowing full well how completely idiotic it must have looked. Yep, that was him, ready to die because his parents had been murdered, but still very concerned with personal appearance. She had drawn closer now, her steps were slow and listless, her eyes watching them each in turn, sizing them up. "A scavenger poking amidst a corpse whose bones were long since cleaned? Or merely an intruder, come into these darkspawn filled wilds of mine in search of easy prey?"

Wilds of hers? Did that mean she was Chasind, then? In all of his studies he had heard that the Chasind folk were usually dark skinned and beast like. Though, considering the books had been written by chantry priests, their interpretations may have been incredibly prejudiced and skewed. He decided that she was still the most attractive woman he'd ever laid eyes on, Chasind or not.

She stopped, not ten feet from them and crossed her arms. "What say you, hmm? Scavenger or intruder?"

He found it incredibly difficult to form words, and cast his to his other companions. Jory looked as if he were about to wet himself. Daveth was leering at her with a very shady expression on his face. Kate looked ready to fight. And Alistair seemed weary of her, at best. Nobody said a word.

Before the silence got out of hand, Kate opened her mouth, "We are neither. The Grey Wardens once owned this tower."

The woman before them visibly scoffed at Kate, "'Tis a tower no longer. The Wilds have obviously claimed this desiccated corpse." She began walking again, this time circling around their small party. They turned, following her progress as she spoke. "I have watched your progress for some time. 'Where do they go,' I wondered, 'Why are they here'?" She had made her way to the edge of the ruins, where several of the Wilds plants had begun growing into the foundation of the old stonework.

Arutha took a deep breath and took several steps forward, faltering when her piercing gaze focused on him. He stopped, now standing in front of the others, but still many feet from the woman. She leaned against one of the crumbling walls, "And now you disturb ashes none have touched for so long. Why is that?"

Arutha opened his mouth to answer her question. To explain that they'd been sent her to collect some documents and that they had come up empty, but before he could, Alistair put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't answer her," the Grey Warden said. "She looks Chasind, and that means others may be nearby."

"Oh," the woman said, now looking at Alistair. "You fear barbarians will swoop down upon you?" She said in a very sarcastic way, even raising her arms to illustrate the 'swooping.'

"Yes," Alistair replied with a grimace. "Swooping is bad."

Kate snorted from somewhere behind him, and Arutha felt a smile tugging at his lips. Good to know that the argument between Alistair and the woman was not only amusing to him, at least.

Daveth, though, obviously didn't find Alistair's comment as amusing as they did, because he began rambling like a terrified toddler. "She's a Witch of the Wilds, she is! She'll turn us into toads!" Arutha put his face in his hands. Why were the two Grey Warden Recruits that he wasn't related to so unbelievably unbearable?

"Witch of the Wilds? Such Idle fancies, those legends. Have you no minds of your own?" Arutha found himself agreeing with the Witch. Daven and Jory were like two frightened children. Alistair was trying to get them out of danger, which was a definite and much more rational step up. And Kate was being very silent. Arutha found himself unable to look away from the Witch long enough to see just what she was doing.

"You there, handsome lad," the Witch said, pointing right at him. "Tell me your name and I shall tell you mine. Let us be civilized."

Arutha's immediate thought was one of absolute glee. She found him handsome! That was good. Unless she was still being sarcastic like she had been with Alistair. Before he could dwell on it for too long, years and years of condition that had been worked into him by his teachers back in Highever took over, and he gave her his name. "I am Arutha, a pleasure to meet you." He had first uttered those same words many years ago when he had first met Delilah Howe. And he had used them countless times since. It was how a nobleman greeted people.

The Witch seemed slightly taken aback by his politeness, but she responded in kind. "Now that is a proper, civil, greeting, even here in the Wilds. You may call me Morrigan." The smile she gave him at that moment was unnerving. It disarmed in such a way that he could not even put words on it.

"Shall I guess your purpose? You sought something in that chest? Something that is here no longer?" How had she known that they'd been looking for something? And then he remembered that she'd said she'd been watching them. And that thought brought forth a myriad of other questions about how she'd been watching them. He certainly hadn't seen any sign of her until now.

"Here no longer?" Alistair asked, venom coming into his voice. "You stole them, didn't you?" It was a fair assumption. Morrigan had made her appearance just after they'd turned up empty handed and made it a point to be as cryptic and intimidating as possible.

"You're some sort of . . . sneaky . . . witch thief!" Arutha broke into a fit of unrestrained laughter at Alistair's accusation. He could hear Kate chuckling behind him, as well as uneasy groans from their other companions. Daveth and Jory really were turning out to be spoil sports. They had absolutely no sense of humor. Well, no sense of gallows humor, at any rate.

"How very eloquent," Morrigan said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "How does one steal from dead men?" Alistair sighed in frustration. Arutha remembered in that instant that there was a certain amount of seriousness involved in what they were doing: stopping the Blight, killing darkspawn, definitely serious business.

"Quite easily, it seems. Those documents are Grey Warden property, and I suggest you return them." Alistair maintained his air of seriousness, while Morrigan seemed amused. Arutha had a strange feeling that the entire situation seemed to be dissolving rather quickly.

"I will not," Morrigan shot at them very casually. Kate tutted in frustration, but before Alistair could say anything, Morrigan continued: "for 'twas not I who removed them. Invoke a name that means nother here any longer if you wish, I am not threatened." That meant that someone, or perhaps something, had removed them previously. And the fact that they were Grey Wardens, well the fact that Alistair was a Grey Warden, did not seem to faze her.

"Then who removed them?" Kate snapped. She had long since lost her patience, and Arutha knew that she would now spend a great deal of time taking out her frustration on whoever decided to speak with her. Fortunately, there were plenty of people like Daveth for her to attempt to strangle, and he would get away mostly unscathed. At least, he hoped.

"Twas my mother, in fact." Alistair raised his eyebrow. He now stood shoulder to shoulder with Arutha, his arms were crossed and he looked like he was about ready to gut the woman standing before them.

"Can you take us to her?" Arutha put in, hoping to completely avoid getting to a point where Kate or Alistair actually tried to kill Morrigan. He discovered in that one moment that he was a big softy for women with pretty eyes. He wasn't sure he was overly fond of the woman, cryptic as she was, but her eyes were unbelievably unique and he found himself gazing into them. Looking for some sign that she would acquiesce and give them what they wanted. Duncan had given them orders to retrieve the documents.

"There is a sensible request. I like you." The Witch smiled sweetly at him, and he found himself feeling strangely content, though his mind was screaming at him, telling him that he should feel uneasy. Something about Morrigan was not quite right, even though she seemed to get on with him just fine.

"I'd be careful. First it's, I like you, but then, zap! Frog time." To Arutha's surprise, it was Alistair, not Daveth, who spoke. It seemed that he was just as suspicious of Morrigan as the others. Pity.

"She'll put us all in the pot she will, just you watch." There was the comment from Daveth he'd been waiting for. He'd never actually understood the strange fear of mages. Sure they were powerful, and potentially dangerous, but he'd never actually met a mage that was a bad person. All of them, insofar as he could tell, had been horribly discriminated against.

"If the pot's warmer than this forest, it'd be a nice change." Arutha snorted. There was that gallows humor that he found to be so endearing. It seemed the knight did have some, ironic, considering how he'd acted earlier.

"Follow me then, if it pleases you," Morrigan said. She turned away from them and made her way down the hill and away from the old ruins. Not once did she look back to see if they were following her. Arutha exchanged glances with the others, and shrugged. He walked after the witch, and curiously wondered what sort of trouble they were getting themselves into by following Morrigan.

Their group walked in silence for some time, all of them were weary of their guide and did not want to discuss much of anything in front of her. Arutha found it difficult to take his eyes off of her. The clothing she wore afforded him an unobstructed view of her back, and he marveled at her pale skin. There were no scars or scratches, nor were there any others signs that her skin had ever been so much as dirtied.

Arutha's mind wandered from Morrigan and her flawless back, and he found himself lost in a memory. Despite the throb that assailed his chest when he thought about his nephew, he allowed the memories to wash over him, instead of pushing them away. As they walked he slowly sank into a depressed stupor. The part of him that sought a distraction from his pain in Morrigan was quickly overwhelmed by the part of him that wanted nothing more than to die.

His steps became slower, heavier, and he started to fall behind the others. The others did not seem to notice, except for Kate, who made her way to his side and gently took hold of his hand. "A silver for your thoughts?" she asked him.

He looked at her solemnly and offered her a sad smile. "I was just thinking about the time Oren attacked me with that old wooden sword and knocked me down the stairs." She returned his look of grief and squeezed his hand gently.

Arutha desperately fought the tears that were threatening to spill from his eyes and cascade down his cheeks. The happy memories that he had once cherished were now turned sad and stained with blood, that fact alone filled him with more anguish than he thought possible. It was slowly destroying him. He had promised himself to be strong for Kate, and he had spent the entire time falling apart. All in all, it seemed that she was taking the entire thing a whole lot better than he was. But that was his little squirt. Always being the tough one.

"I miss them, too," she said, looking away from him. He could hear the pain in her voice and he knew that she did not want him to see that pain reflected in her eyes. She was much too strong willed for that.

They lapsed into silence again, following the others and taking solace in the fact that they still had one another for company.

Morrigan led their group down another path and into a large open area. There were no trees here, and the marshy ground seemed to be firmer. In the center of the clear area was a large shack. Standing outside the hut, was an old woman. The look she gave them as they approached suggested that she had been expecting their arrival.

XoXoXoXoX

Fergus Cousland had been assigned the ever so lovely duty of scouting the Korcari Wilds. He had arrived at Ostagar with his men and had been warmly greeted by Cailan and Loghain. He had exchanged pleasantries with the King and Teyrn while his men set up their tents and rested, and when they were all ready for action again, he had been sent off into the wilds with thirty of his men to look for the darkspawn.

It was not fun work, sitting on the back of a horse in freezing weather and simply looking around. They had been in the wilds for several hours already, and were due to return to camp later that afternoon. That would give all of them time to rest before the bulk of the horde reached Ostagar.

The sound of their horse's hooves mingled with the sounds of the gently rustling wind and the occasional stirring of the murky water that dominated the wilds. As they made a wide arc back towards Ostagar, Fergus found his attention wandering from the task at hand. He idly wondered how Oren and Oriana were faring, and how Kate was coping with the responsibilities of a Teyrna. He chuckled to himself. Kate was never one for politics. She was short tempered and had a nasty habit of holding grudges. Politics had always been Arutha's forte. Fergus had learned quite some time ago how ruthless Arutha could be, how well he could manipulate people to his own ends. Arutha had the makings of a wonderful politician. Despite that, he felt that Kate had one advantage over her brother. She was a lot fairer. While she could get very angry in an incredibly short amount of time, she was also incredibly kind. Arutha, on the other hand, tended to be a bit more mischievous, even if nobody thought him such.

If one threw in his brother's talent with a sword, they'd be hard pressed to find a better man to lead them. He had, on occasion, spoken with his father about abdicating the Teyrnir in favor of Arutha, but he knew that he was just like his brother. Both of them knew how to manipulate people, how to rule over their subjects. And both of them knew how to do it fairly. That was what set them apart from tyrants. The Couslands were a fair and benevolent faction. Good people.

He cast his eyes about for any sign of darkspawn and saw none. He steered his horse around a thick muddy puddle and returned to his musing, his right hand now idly stroking the pendant his wife had given them on their anniversary.

The celebration had been a wonderful one. They had invited all of the nobility to celebrate their tenth anniversary. His mother had surprised him be even suggesting that there be a party. That sort of thing was much more up his father's avenue: Bryce Cousland, respected Teyrn of Highever and notorious trouble maker among his friends and family.

Nevertheless it had been a marvelous occasion. He had danced with his wife, spoken with some of his good friends, including Cailan, who had decided to come, and watched Arutha get into a rather heated argument with Anora. All in all, it had been a wonderful anniversary.

He remembered Kate going off with Ser Gilmore and not returning, and Oren announcing to everyone that he was going to ride a griffon. Those were the things he really enjoyed doing, dancing with his wife, laughing with his son, and spending time with his family. But no, he had to ride a horse around in freezing temperatures and look for darkspawn in a haunted forest. The things people do for love, right?

He sighed, his heart suddenly heavy, and let the necklace fall back into place. They'd be back in Ostagar soon. At least then he'd get to see his father and brother. Arutha would probably tell him a wonderful story about Oren's latest antics. Yes, that was something he could look forward to.

They continued on for some time, and Fergus began to notice signs that something was not quite right. He couldn't place his finger on it, but he could sense that there was danger ahead of them. "Be ready men," he said over his shoulder. "I fear we may be nearing a spot of trouble."

He had been right, quite suddenly, and from every direction. Short, squat darkspawn appeared, snarling viciously and waving twisted blackened swords. Fergus shouted commands, drawing his sword and spurring his horse forward as he did so.

Fergus and his thirty men drove into the darkspawn with staggering effect. Their large warhorses trampled over the darkspawn, and their blades hacked threw the twisted bodies of their squat enemies. The battle was in their favor. They hacked their way through the darkspawn ranks, still making their way towards Ostagar, slaughtering the foul creatures by the score.

He was absolutely certain that they would have no problem fighting the darkspawn until a large boulder ripped his horse from beneath him. Fergus was flung from the saddle and onto the ground. His vision blurred in an explosion of pain and he felt his sword drop from his broken hand. A massive towering creature lumbered toward him, surrounded by droves of darkspawn. A flurry of arrows shot out from the darkspawn lines, several of them pierced his armor and flesh.

So much for that talk with Arutha, Fergus thought as he fell into the darkness.

* * *

Author's Notes: I really enjoyed writing for Fergus in this chapter. I really tried to develop a good fun-loving man who has his heart in the right place. I really hope that I succeeded. The next chapter will go back to Arutha and Kate. I hope to have that up before the new year begins. Anyway, please review to let me know what you thought of ask any questions you might have.


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